Mirror Image
by Niani
Summary: Chapter four is up! Tom and Skinner recuperate, a game of cards is played, and now it's Egypt bound as the League takes on the next mirror image.
1. Default Chapter

Alrighty then folks, I really shouldn't have started another fic, but I've got a good head start on this one. Henry might be a bit OOC in one part of this, but I couldn't resist. A part of me really thinks that the history of political science" would actually be a book he would read. But the other part usually kicks the other into submissions and firmly assures that it can bend the rules a tad. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but a few Canadian pennies.

Mirror image

Happy Hunting

Tom looked sadly as M's pod disappeared beneath the nearly solid surface of the great frozen lake. A few bubbles emerged from the iced over plane, but nothing more. Pounding a fist onto the broken wall, Tom muttered a curse under his breath and looked ashamedly behind him. Allan Quatermain, the last of the great white hunters, stood fingering the blade he pulled out of his shoulder. M had only had time for a unsteady stab when the last tremor shook the very foundations of his quickly crumbling fortress.

"I didn't get him, Allan, he's gone." Tom mumbled the words, avoiding Quatermain's gaze while his face heated in shame. It was his moment to prove that he could pull his weight in the group and he failed.

"I can see that, boy. Next time you'll get him." He clasped Tom's shoulder and gave it a brief squeeze. "Come, the rest will want to know of this." His tone was soft and the disappointment was not concealed wholly. Tom hung his head, he couldn't bear to think that the frustration in Allan's words had been for him. Tom followed docilely, hoping that when they next time came, if it ever did, that Allan would be the one to get him. At least then everyone would know that he would be well and truly dead. The American agent sighed miserably, this certainly wasn't turning out to be the adventure he had imagined.

Tom stopped in mid-stride, a look of horror flying across his face as he recalled something he had forgotten in the excitement. Without a moment's more hesitation he took off running through the ruins of the fortress and down the hallway. Allan blinked in bewilderment at Tom's groan of "Oh God, Skinner," but ran after him just the same.

Allan winced away at the sight of the thief's charred skin. Tom had knelt down besides Skinner and was murmuring comfortingly to him while his eyes ran worriedly over the burns the covered the majority of him. Tom looked up to Allan, "We need to get him to the Nautilus and fine Jekyll." Allan nodded and left at a run.

* * *

Henry and Nemo had wandered about in the snow for a time, trying to locate a spot where they could re-enter the bastion. The front entrance had crumbled thanks the little jab caused by Skinner's bomb's.

Crawling into a small opening and waving aside dust, they peered through the powdered stone and rubble. Parts of the stronghold were still collapsing, but part of it still remained standing. Glancing back at Nemo, Jekyll coughed into this hand as the unsettled dust was swallowed with a gulp of air. "Hello?" Jekyll called out into the cloudy air, a figure was coming towards him. "Who are you?"

The doctor jumped when Mina stepped in front of him, close enough to be seen through the dust that the buckled stone had thrown into the air. "Just me, where is everyone? Or more importantly, where is M?"

Jekyll opened his mouth to answer her, but another rang out before he got the chance. "Not quite dead, but there is another more pressing matter at the moment!" Allan's voice called out from the curtain of dust that still lingered in the air. All heads swiveled towards Quatermain.

"What do you mean not dead?" Mina's voice held a swift undercurrent of annoyance. "If he is not dead then is he at least captured? Where is he?"

Allan shook his head and bent over, gasping in a few breaths. The grit in the air was not the most pleasant when it was being inhaled in large amounts as he found out, he had run the entire way. "Jekyll, come, it's Skinner." Without waiting to see if the they had followed him, Allan took off again, hoping he could find his way back to Tom and the invisible man.

It was a relief to see that the air had started to become a bit clearer as the dust started to drift to the ground, covering it and causing anyone who walked over it to leave tracks. Mina caught up with Allan and threw a look at him out of the corner of her eyes. The look plainly said that she did not know what was going on but did not like the looks of it.

Mina did not get a full look ay the sight they were coming up upon until she too was kneeling next to Skinner and Jekyll was close behind. He felt for a pulse and found it rapid and shallow. "We need to get him out of here."

* * *

Tom rolled over, sleepily smacking at the fly that tickled his nose. With a small _buzzzzz _it landed once more and this time Tom's hand caught it in mid flight. Though instead of stopping its noise and leaving him along, it let out an indignant cry. "Ow! Watch where you're swinging mate. Nearly took me hand off." Tom's eyes snapped open to stare at the perpetrator, only one voice sounded like that aboard the ship. He smiled his crooked smile when the only thing in his live of vision seemed to be a floating bandage. The white linen binding was wrapped around a lean chest and about a shoulder. "Skinner, Jekyll will have my head _and_ yours if he catches you here."

A small depression formed at the end of the bed as Skinner sat down. His cockney voice was full of righteous anger, "Well, if'n that's how you're going to treat a wounded comrade then I'll just take my leave." Tom rolled his eyes and put a hand out to stop him, "I said _if _he catches you. I certainly won't tell him. But I haven't seen you if he notices you're gone."

Tom knew the thief well enough to know that Skinner wore a grin and most likely had just winked at him. "Right then, he won't catch me if you won't tell."

A nervous cough broke out from the doorway, "Sorry to interrupt gentlemen, But I am afraid that I will have to collect my patient now." Jekyll never leaned, he stood stiffly at the doorway. Somehow he always managed to seem nervous, even when there was no cause. His smile looked painful and he wore a look of mild irritated displeasure. He usually did when Skinner went missing, it had happened more that once.

Skinner was standing in an instant, stepping quickly to the other side of the bed to put distance between him and the aggravated doctor. "Let's be reasonable now Jekyll. Can't I even stretch my legs a bit?"

Sighing in aggravation, Jekyll shook his head and glanced at his pocket watch, "I have been looking for you for a half hour." He frowned and started towards Skinner meaningfully. The thief backed up until he could retreat no farther, his voice rising a few octaves as he tried to persuade Jekyll to let him go. Tom had donned a shirt and finished tucking it into his breeches when he finally intervened. "What if he stayed with me? I promise that I won't let him out of my sight." Jekyll's head swiveled towards the agent and Skinner's may have as well. The doctor appeared to be thinking, he did not like to let his go patients very easily. Studying Tom's face intently, there was a moment of tense silence before, "Very well Mr. Sawyer, but if I hear of any mischief, I know where I will find it." A smile hovered on Jekyll's stern face.

Skinner waited until Jekyll was out of the room before he heaved a careful sigh of relief. He did not want to wait until he was completely healed before he was free of that stuffy infirmary. It was the closest thing to a miracle as far as he could say that Jekyll allowed him to stay with Tom. And speaking of the agent, he grinned at where the bandages said Skinner stood, "He must be in a good mood. You're a lucky man." Skinner winked, though Tom could not see it, "Don't I know it, mate."

Tom dressed quickly, leaving his untidy hair to be reckoned with later. The invisible thief was near hopping with impatience to be out and about, though it might not have been the best way to describe the submarine right then, they had submerged an hour ago. Tom supposed Skinner was just glad to be vertical again. The ships crew that they encountered in the narrow halls stepped aside with polite nods when they saw Tom and a seemingly floating bandage that they of course assumed to be the invisible man walking by. Tom made Skinner retrieve his long leather coat from his room. It was difficult to keep track of the thief even with the bandages and he was more susceptible to the cold when he was recovering.

They wandered the halls for a time, but only after getting chased form the kitchens and finding none of the League at breakfast or in their rooms. Well, actually only Allan was not in his room. The other's were closed and there was no sound coming from them. It was almost like they had disappeared from the ship.

Oddly enough, they found the rest of the league in the library. Tom and Skinner had had no plans of going to the library. Out of all the occupants of the ship, there no two people less likely to be seen there. They had been heading towards the kitchens to try and catch a late breakfast once again when Tom halted suddenly at the sound of Mina's voice drifting through the door that was not quite closed.

Allan, Mina, Nemo and Jekyll started as they heard the noticeable thump of Skinner running into something solid, in this case, Tom, and then the loud exclamation, "Ow! What do you think you're doing, Tom. Why'd you stop?" The door swung open enthusiastically as Tom fell against it, off balanced as Skinner shoved him away. Tom straighten and looked sheepish as Skinner came after him, not noticing that there was other people in the room. His next words died on his lips when he saw that the room was occupied and he was now the center of attention.

He smiled, though no one could see it, and grabbed Tom by the collar as he started to back out of the library. Jekyll raised an eyebrow and coughed to get the invisible man's attention. "Skinner, do you remember out little chat?" There was a hesitant silence before, "…Yes."

"Are you quite sure? I remembered distinctly telling you that your custody is to be back in my care if you caused mischief. Consider yourself caught red-handed. Tom, please escort him back to the infirmary." Skinner gave an exaggerated groan and slumped his shoulders dejectedly. It only made him more frustrated that Tom could not see the furious glare he directed at him.

"Wait." Allan held up a hand, "They might as well hear it now, saves us from having to explain it to them later." Mina nodded her agreement and Jekyll thought for a moment before he too nodded. Nemo looked as sturdy and calm as ever, though he smiled slightly at Tom and Skinner as they took a chair each. Allan cut his eyes towards Tom, the distinct twinkle of merriment shone in them. He had stalled Jekyll deliberately.

Skinner leaned back in his cushioned chair and folded his arm across his chest. His worn leather long coat creaked mutedly. These talks they had to endure were the dullest thing about the League. Gazing off into the distance…to where a decanter of scotch rested on a table…he wished he somewhere else. Tuning out the voices, he hummed quietly to himself.

Tom listened intently. He had not done much over the past few weeks except rest, practice with Allan and visit Skinner. M had gotten away, he knew this, but it had not registered how much of a threat it had come to be. But as he sat listening in turn to Mina, Jekyll and Allan, Tom came to realize how serious the situation had become. M had not just escaped, but the box of "tricks" had gone with him. It sent a shiver down Tom's spine. "So what you're saying is that we don't know where this box is going to end up." Allan nodded, but was interrupted by Mina, "Not quite Tom. True, we do not know now where all of them are, but we _will _know."

Tom and Allan exchanged puzzled glances until Nemo handed the vampiress a newspaper. The headlines made it quite clear where one of the boxes ingredients wound up. A few large unidentified beasts of some sort had appeared in Brazil. Tom whistled and Jekyll fidgeted with his pocket watch, the corner of one twitched every so often. When he spoke it had a hint of a tremble in it, "Well," he paused to clear his throat, "we had best be on our way." They sat in a silence that was only broken by Skinner's quite humming. The league cut their eye's towards the thief, but he appeared not to notice.

Nemo stood and bowed to them formally, "If we are to make it to Brazil in any decent amount of time, then I should get us underway." They nodded to the stoical captain and began to drift one at a time from the library. Jekyll halted in front of Skinner who, for the first time, appeared to notice he was being addressed. Snapping out of the trance he had been in, he stood suddenly and quickly. Jekyll took a hasty step back to avoid collision. His leather coat swirling at his quick movements, he used Tom as a shield.

"I've been good, you saw me, not one peep through the entire time." Jekyll made a vexed sound with his tongue and folded his arms across his chest impatiently. "If you behaved so well, then tell me what we spoke about." Skinner's mouth opened and then shut again. By his silence Jekyll guessed he had not been listening. Reaching for the invisible thief's arm and pulled him forcefully towards the door.

"Hold up, Henry." Allan's deep voice sounded from behind them, saving Skinner once again. "I'll watch both of them." Jekyll threw up his hands in irritation and shoved Skinner in the hunters direction. "Fine, take them _both_. Allan, I do not care what you do to them, toss them out a window for all I care. Good luck." Ever the gentleman, Henry only shut the door a tad harder than was strictly necessary. Allan cast a mock angry scowl at them, "Maybe I _will_ take up Jekyll's idea and chuck you both over the side of the boat."

"'e said to lob us out a window Allan, not the-" He was cut off as Tom stifled him mouth quickly. Tom shrugged ruefully at the hunter, "We didn't mean to fall in here. I heard voices and Skinner is blind." From beneath the hands that muffled his protests, Skinner growled threateningly. Allan chuckled warmly and ushered them both from the Library

The Nautilus rose from several hours to recharge the solar panels. It would take them about a week to get to Brazil. Allan chauffeured them around until Skinner finally retired to his room early to sleep. From then on Tom and Allan retrieved their guns and withdrew to the deck for the last hour of the Nautilus's rise to the surface. Tom had always enjoyed spending these times with Allan. The man was like a father to him…and then there was the shooting. There didn't seem to be anything more satisfactory than shooting up random objects.

He let off three shots before he realized Allan was talking to him. Wiggling a finger in his ear to clear the ringing, Tom tilted his head to one side and said a bit too loudly, "Say that again?" Allan clapped him on the shoulder warmly and steered him towards he door. "Were diving, boy, get below before you have to swim to Brazil."

Tom let himself be guided towards the door. Crewman held it open and bowed them in before it was just and tightly locked. The blonde agent felt them sinking and he steadied himself by grabbing Allan for support. They would arrive in about a week to Brazil. Tom sighed, that meant an incredibly dull week without stops and hardly anytime above the water. Only enough time for them to get on each others nerves and become so confined that they would start prowling that halls looking or something to alleviate the monotony. Tom branched off from Quatermain, leaving to go to his own room. If he was going to spend that much time with the League, then he was going to try to sleep away the first few hours and hopefully wake up and see it in a different light.

* * *

It was Mina's time this late at night. She normally did not like to find anyone else awake when she was up. It was awkward when the other person knew why you liked to be up at an unreasonable hour. That was why she started when Jekyll hastily stood from the chair he had occupied a moment earlier. She smiled and inwardly sighed, he had supposed that Henry would have retired to his room by now, there was usually no one in the Library at this hour.

His coat was unbuttoned and his normally tidy hair was a bit disheveled. He caught the book he had been reading just before it hit the ground. He straightened and quickly laid the book on his seat and ran a hand over his head, trying to make his hair lay flat. Mina held up a hand to stall him. "Sit down Henry, I do not mind." He looked unsure, but sat and toyed with his book. Mina gazed at the tall bookcases that lined the room. It was one of the largest rooms in the vessel, plainly decorated, but friendly and warm. It was filled with large cushioned chairs with high backs and tall lamps that cast a welcoming glow. Mina liked to spend evenings there when she was not in her room.

Though it seemed that Henry did as well when he was not also holed up in his room. Besides it might be an interesting time to talk to the doctor. She, nor anyone else, usually saw Henry without him looking his best. She often wondered how he did it. Jekyll flipped the book open to the page he had originally been reading and held it open in his lap; not reading, just looking at the words on the paper. "Do you think we will be able to…dispose of them?" She had not been expecting him to talk first, he tended to be quite shy. Though there was no need to say what _them _was. She knew what Henry meant. Would they be able to defeat copies of themselves. Not just copies, actual beings with the same peculiarity as themselves. They would not be mindless clones, they would have once been normal people.

But they would not be like Mina or like Henry or, God help them if they were, like Skinner. They would be no doubt working for M or have had his influence. If they thought this was over, they had just crushed the tip of the iceberg. And iceberg that would have been long melted if that box had been destroyed. Mina compressed her lips into a tight white line. That wasn't fair though, Tom and Allan had tried their best. "I hope so Henry." She faltered for a minute, choosing a book from one of the shelves, "We haven't ever faced one of us. But Tom has, you remember? He told us of the man that had recruited us, Mr. Reed?" Henry nodded and she continued, "he fought him after he had turned himself invisible. We just need to outsmart them, it should be simple. We have all had years of practice being ourselves, and they have next to none."

Henry smiled a small smile and murmured almost to himself, though Mina knew she was meant to hear it, "Easy? Outsmarting another Hyde? I have trouble trying to do that to one already." She glanced at him, but he didn't look. His face grew a little pale and he winced, remaining that way for a minute, lips moving in a silent battle. Breaking his gaze away from where he had been staring into space, Jekyll closed his eyes before they popped open again, as if he had seen something horrible. Mina did not question further, Hyde could be really be demanding and a voice inside your head was disconcerting to say the least. She thought that most of the time, Henry suffered more than any of them. And she knew that her own…oddities paled besides Henry's in some ways. She was sure she would have ended her own life long ago if she had had Hyde running loose inside her head.

"And what does Hyde gave to say on this matter?" Henry jerked as if goosed and stared at her for a moment before answering in a stumbling fashion, adjusting his loosened tie and avoiding her gaze. "He says that a," He broke off clearing his throat, "That _I_ cannot even get the better of him and so I should-" He winced again and directed a painful smile in the vampiress's direction, Hyde's advise was obviously not going to be helpful. "Well, I should turn in. Good night, Ms. Harker."

Jekyll was nearly to the door when he heard Mina's voice behind him, "Good night, Henry, sleep well." He paused with one hand on the intricately carved doors, head bowed slightly. "Good night, Mina."

* * *

Jekyll walked slowly back to his room, thinking was slightly difficult with Hyde making snide comments. But, even if he could not ignore him, he had nearly learned to live with it. _Live with me do you? You'd be sniveling under your covers without the backbone I give you. If it weren't for me, you'd be just the weeping runt that you are. _"Do not forget Edward, that is was _I_ who made you." Jekyll growled softly to the gruff voice in his head.

Ha, then why don't you unmake me then? You can't can you? Because you're too weak, Henry, you need me now. Jekyll did his best to tune out the laughing. If not used to it, then partially numb to it. He made himself slow down from the fast pace he had set. It might draw attention practically running through the halls of the Nautilus. Taking a slight detour to check on Skinner, Jekyll finally made it to his own room.

He slowly undressed and readied himself for sleep, he wasn't exceptionally tired, but he could read in bed for a while. There were times when he read and read and couldn't remember a thing. But then there were other times when he could lose himself in those pages. He loved to read, it was not exactly a secret among the League, though what they did not know was that he harbored a personal fondness for more than just his studies. Sometimes he wondered if the people who wrote books with daring adventures and narrow escapes had ever had to experience one.

It did not look to be so. In the books, they came close to death, but weren't afraid. They never lost hope, even when there had been none from the beginning. If this was how it was supposed to be, he had signed up for the wrong adventure. He should have known that from the beginning, should have know right at the moment when he had been captured instead of recruited and forced to join rather than asked. Not because he had been brave and saved countless people from evil or survived perilous situations without feeling the bitter ashes of being so petrified he could scarcely make himself breath properly; but because he had been too dangerous to leave running free and they needed the monster inside of him. He drifted off to sleep, sinking into a world of heroes, love and an ending that always turned out happy.

* * *

Mina felt some of the tension ease from that irritating spot in her neck and shoulders after she talked with Henry. Knowing that you were not the only one to be fretting over their next mission-or to be exactly accurate, their original mission-was not as good as _seeing_ that other league members were as edgy as her. Not the best way to be comforted, but then again, misery loved company. It may have been the whole reason the League kept from strangling each other when they were confined to the Nautilus, they were able to commiserate with each other.

She stayed a while in the library, but she did not feel much like reading. Walking was the real thing that put her mind to rest. Talking to Henry did the work of a nice long walk, and she was feeling loose enough to sleep now. On the way back to her room, she stopped by Henry's room. Armed with book of course, just in case he was awake. It would not do to get caught looking for him when she knew him to be in his room; the book would provide a reason. She had seen him reading it the other day.

For some reason unknown to her, he seemed to pick it up a bit hastily, he had set aside the one he had been reading and started to read seemingly the first his hand came into contact with. It had been several days ago when they had spent several hours in the library reading. He had been engrossed with it after a few pages she thought, so she must have mistaken his hastiness for eagerness. But the history of political science did seem a rather dull topic, but uncannily like him.

Mina did not have to worry, the good doctor was fast asleep. A book lay open on his chest and his eyes were closed. Oddly, a small smile rested on his face and his breaths were even and deep. She might never admit it to anyone, but it was not the first time she had checked up on him. His sleep was, by and large, broken and restless. But if he had found something to help him sleep, then it put her to ease. If he was not worried, then neither was she.

* * *

As predicted, it took just over a week to reach the northeastern part of Brazil. The Nautilus rose offshore with a blast of white spray. They were not able to go right to the beach of course, there were not natural bays or harbors they could dock at. All of the crew except for those who rowed the boats ashore stayed onboard until they could decently hide the vessel and a group of them could station themselves on land to assist their captain had he any need of them. The boat's keel thudded mutedly into the wet sand of the coast and they exited without noise. It was not far from here that the _beasts _had been sighted.

They stood in a circle on the beach, none voiced any opinions and a slightly awkward silence reigned for a moment before Allan began. "I don't need to tell any of you what to do. You know we must get rid of him or them, we aren't sure how many of them there might be." He stopped for a moment, looking not quite sure of how to proceed. Mina seemed to know what he was trying to say and she finished for him. "As you know, we were not intended to actually work together, M anticipated us to die in…recent events. What I and Mr. Q are trying to say is that we might not be welcome. We might be seen as a threat every bit as great as the one that is plaguing the people here."

"So watch out for yourselves if we get separated. I know how dangerous they can be." Jekyll had a gleam of determination and resolve shining brightly in his eyes.

"Pair up and keep a sharp eye." Nemo's black eyes crinkled in a warm smile that fell on all of them. It seemed that he and Allan shared the self-appointed joint position of father figure to the League.

"Keep your noses clean, chaps. Wouldn't want the people to send out news that more creatures are attacking them." Mina cast a half-hearted glare at Skinner at his use of the word _creatures._

Tom grinned and shouldered his rifle, coming to stand next to where he judged the thief to be, summing up everyone's words with a grin and simply spoken works. "Keep your heads low. Happy hunting."

As a group they started for the distant line of trees. A dense, tropical forest was their destination. Somewhere hidden inside that tangle lay not only a string of villages and towns, but also several individuals that had gotten their hands on their governments highly expensive samples of a highly dangerous formula…courtesy of Henry Jekyll. How it had gotten out this far in the jungle and out of their governments control was beyond the imagination of anyone in the League. Though if it was a secretive branch, it very well could be that they had not gotten very far. Undisclosed branches of military defense against more than just other armies would not have set up their bases in plain city view. That and the fact that M may have other center of operations in different countries. A bit unlikely, but nothing was beyond belief now.

The weather was mild; warm with a cool breeze blowing off the water. Tom thought it was the perfect weather until they stepped into the jungle forest and the humid heat hit him like a kick in the face. It was like his own Southern summers only worse…much worse. He undid a few of the buttons of his shirt to let some air in, if there was any.

Sadly, the only breeze was from him and the rest of the League's breathing. "I'll eat my coat if I couldn't wring a pail of water out of the air." Skinner's voice sounded right next to his ear, spoken low, but it still made Tom flinch in surprise. The agent groped at his side in an attempt to cuff the thief, but a rustle in the leaves announced that he had danced back out of reach. Tom swiped at where Skinner pushed back leaves and made soft impressions in the springy loam that made the floor of the jungle.

A snigger gave him away and Tom found his mark, right between the invisible man's shoulders. He somersaulted rather ungracefully until a tree halted his roll. Tom smirked and made his way over to help the thief up, but he was seized by the collar of his jacket. Allan fumbled about until he snatched up Skinner by the scruff of his neck. He shook them both lightly before dropping them. "Stay alert, children." Skinner snorted, though softly so as not to invoke the hunter's wrath. "I'm not a child, I'm old enough to be Tom's uncle." It was Mina's turn to roll her eyes at the thief, "Please, you are hardly old enough to be his uncle. Maybe an older cousin or-." She seemed to realize what they were debating was entirely childish and left off with a snort of frustration.

With a final warning glare at Tom and Skinner, Allan fell into the line ahead of the mock guilty duo. All who were within hearing range fought grins and chuckles as Tom's whisper was heard in the sudden hush, "Hey Skinner, how old _are _you?"


	2. Disguises and Disgruntlements

Now for the second chapter! The third will be coming in a few days, after that they should be coming pretty regularly, but who can tell. I do have a good plot mapped out, so that's a good indicator for updates. Happy reading.

Look for disclaimer in chapter one.

* * *

It was quiet for the entire day, nothing larger than a forest creature moved in any case. It was almost dark before a halt was called. They made their way to the edge of the tangled mess of trees, vines, and shrubbery. A small group of crewmen waited at the edge of the water with a boat large enough for the League and the crew to row back to the Nautilus. They had wisely made no fire, but had brought alone several lanterns that made a splash of light in the gloom.

Tom rested his chin in one hand and sighed at the sunset. Disappointment tinged with anticipation did not only infect the agent. The only one in the part that was not frustrated at having found nothing was Skinner. The invisible thief felt only relief to be not be running for his life. He had no doubt in his mind that they would all be doing a bit of that once they found these new Hyde's. Trailing a hand in the water, Skinner leaned over the side of the boat. And he knew that this was only the beginning. They still had to deal with Vampires and…and himself. Now that would be something to see…or rather not see, as it were; he could hardly fight as it was, how was he supposed to fight an invisible enemy? It was quite ironic, he supposed if he were a better fighter his enemies would think the same about him. But he really didn't know how to fight, or at least not well. He knew stealth, but not warfare.

He could joke about it and grin. But it was obvious that Mina and Henry were disturbed over the fact that they were going up against something that equaled their own strength and ability. Neither seemed afraid, just…unstable. He had never before had to describe Mina as unstable, but she and Henry really seemed upset. It was embarrassing, but he at any rate could admit to himself that he did not feel at all unstable; the truth was that he was just plain scared spitless.

It seemed an unspoken intent that in the end, the vampire would kill the vampires, Hyde would kill the Hydes; and so naturally it seemed that it was up to the invisible man to kill the invisible men. With minimal help it seemed, Mina and Jekyll appeared to take a personal offense against their new enemies. With reasonable cause, no doubt, but still, he would welcome all of them to help him get rid of the invisible opponents they would be facing sooner or later. Even to him it sounded cowardly, but when Jekyll turned into Hyde, it didn't seem to matter that _Jekyll_ looked like he couldn't - or wouldn't for that matter - hurt a fly. Hyde could easily rip the _limbs_ off of a human as easy as the _wings_ of a fly!

Skinner was sure that Mina was dangerous enough without her vampiric abilities, but he would wager that even if she had been weak and defenseless as Jekyll seemed to be, she would not have been when the more vicious side that had been created in her was shown. But not him, no sir. If you were weak, defenseless, and Hell, if you were a pacifist then you'd be all that and invisible. And it would be just his luck if the men that were invisible were all fine specimens, fit and athletic. The most he could do would be to giftedly run away and hide. He chopped at the water angrily.

"Skinner! Stop splashing." Mina's voice sounded irritated, he meekly went back to letting the tips of his fingers draw vanishing lines in the black water. When Mina was in a bad mood, there was no sense in provoking her any further. The next thing anybody knew, her hair would be curling and it would be his blood she would be after. He felt like he could sleep for weeks, and not only from tramping around all day in the heat. Come to think on it, maybe a swim too. No chance of that of course, but it would have been nice.

There was an emergency meeting once they returned to the Nautilus. They might never find the new Hyde's even if they tramped around the rainforest for weeks, months maybe. There were towns nearby, and even a city; or at least that's was Skinner though Mina had said. Though it was almost the only thing Mina said that actually informed them of anything, she stepped aside and seated herself in one of the library's high-backed chairs. Skinner silently choked when Jekyll took the stage and finished the rest of their instruction and plans of action. He hardly listened, it was happening already. Normally Mina or Allan would have told them all they needed to know. But it concerned Jekyll more than any of them, and so naturally it had fallen into Jekyll's hand. Oh God, he needed a drink.

* * *

Tom glanced at Skinner once the meeting had begun. He was, as usual, not paying the least bit attention to the doctors words. There were times when he wished he could see the expression on the invisible mans face. He usually pictured Skinner with a half grin and eyes shining with amusement. But it was times like these when he thought he might wear the look of absolute boredom. It was exasperating at times, though he empathized with the thief, the meetings they held bored him more often than not as well, but he was never extremely open about everyone knowing just how bored he was. And besides, they were talking business now. Action was coming.

He sat close to Skinner, he was the closest friend he had in the League, and pretty much anywhere else. Thinking that made thoughts of Huck come to his mind and he sighed very softly so that no one other than himself would hear. He was still grieving of course, and he would probably still be twenty years from now. It made an ache in his chest grow for a moment, and he swallowed a lump in his throat. Tom blinked his eyes rapidly and turned away quickly when he saw Mina looking at him. Feeling his cheeks heat and irritation grow, he vented it by means of a small slap to where he judged Skinner's arm to be located and snapped in an annoyed whisper, "Skinner, pay attention!" The invisible man jumped silently and Tom could almost feel Skinner's heart jump into his throat. Smiling smugly at having his irritation satisfyingly sated, Tom leaned back more comfortably to listen to the rest of Jekyll's speech.

It was late when they were finally finished. With many a yawn and bids of "goodnight", they filed out of the library. Tom followed Skinner as he virtually ran from the library. Thankfully he had donned his coat before the meeting, it was rather hard to follow the sound of the man's feet sometimes. The agent caught hold of his shoulder and swung the thief around. The invisible man resisted for only a moment before allowing Tom to direct his steps. Though before he could utter a word, Skinner held up a hand and spoke quickly, "Look, you can follow me if you like, Tom. I've got and extra glass and your welcome to it, but no questions, not tonight" Tom nodded after a moment and released his grip on Skinner.

* * *

Allan was the last to make it to his room. He stopped for a hurried conference with Mina and Jekyll that had turned out to not be quite as hurried as he would have liked. He yawned cavernously behind on hand and ruffled his graying hair as he walked to his room with sleep heavy steps. The hunters pace slowed, however, as he came closer to Skinner's room.

"You had better not be lying, at least you can see mine." Tom's voice sounded slurred and a strange mix between disbelieving and…well, drunk. Skinner's equally as garbled voice held not a hint of disbelief, only righteous anger. "Well of course I'm lying, but only about how I got it. It's there all right. Here, feel." Curiosity got the better of Allan as he drew nearer to Skinner's room, it was there that the voices were coming from. He could have passed by, but really, a man could only take so much after hearing the little snippet of conversation.

He leaned in the doorway, a grin coming to his face when the mystery was solved. Tom and Skinner were seated on the thief's bed, leaned against the wall. On the table near the bed sat a mostly empty bottle of sherry and two half empty glasses. Allan did not really catch what they were talking about; what he saw, however, was rather baffling. Skinner had directed Tom's hand to his shoulder and then down in a slanted line across his chest. The hunter in the doorway almost laughed aloud when Skinner explained to Tom, "You're right, wasn't a knife fight. It happened before I took the formula. It was one of my first big thefts and I got caught. Naturally, I took off and when I looked back I ran straight into one of those razor wire fences. Luckily, I was young enough so that the bloke who was after me found the situation rather pathetic and he took me to a doctor instead of turning me it."

Tom laughed into his glass and rolled up his sleeve on his right arm and showed Skinner a fine white scar down his forearm. "All right then, if we're confessing then I really got this one when I was about sixteen. I was fishing and I fell on the hooks I had stuck onto a piece of material so I wouldn't loose them, when I got up thought it had got my shirt and tried to pull it off."

Allan watched for a while, he left when he couldn't contain his yawns anymore, or stifled laughter for that matter. Both of them went on and on. It was hard to imagine either of them having so many memories of past blunders and, on occasions, fights. But he himself bore by twice as many decorations. Though he really did not expect Skinner to have as many, but he matched Tom's every story with one of his own. He closed the door quietly and left the braggers to themselves until they fell asleep.

* * *

It was the last time he would ever drink with Skinner. Maybe in some world he could match the thief's resiliency to drink, but definitely not in this one. And of course, they had to get up early and go into the city. Thankfully, the only other shock he received that morning was waking up in Skinner's room. Though that in itself was a bigger surprise than he needed. Mercifully, he remembered the last night and didn't panic too badly. Skinner was snoring next to him, though Tom had to trace the sound until he realized that the invisible man was sleeping sitting up, still propped against the wall.

All of his luck drained away, however, as he sat up and the door swung open. "Skinner, will you get-" Mina's words broke off, she first eyed Tom and then the two empty glasses, she rolled her eyes, "Oh, there you are agent Sawyer, you might want to get ready as well." Tom groaned and felt his face heating as Mina closed the door with a barely concealed snigger of amusement. "I'm awake!" Skinner's words were almost unintelligible as he came to with a snort.

His head throbbed and Tom winced as he shook Skinner until he was fully conscious. "Let's go, Skinner. Wakey wakey." Tom hauled himself off of the bed and staggered his way to the thief's washroom. Cold water did wonders in waking him. But coffee would work even better, even if his stomach recoiled that the thought of food. The hot reviving liquid was more valuable this morning than gold. Suddenly, he was shouldered aside and Skinner scooped up a double handful of water to splash on his face.

"Shove aside, mate." The thief's voice sounded no worse for wear, though if you listened carefully, there was a strain there. If he had been visible his eyes would probably have been a bloodshot as his own. Or maybe they were not, Skinner had an incredible tolerance to alcohol. Tom was reasonable sure the thief could stand what could kill a lesser man.

Tom tucked in his wrinkled shirt and stopped at his room to grab a jacket before he and Skinner made their way to the dining room. The league was seated around the table enjoying their breakfasts. Tom paled a little at the site of his own awaiting plate. Pushing it forward so that he could not smell it so well. Rather, he poured coffee for himself and Skinner. He received a mumbled thanks.

The meeting was hurried. The city was three days trip into town and from there they would be renting inn rooms. They would arrive in pairs and within a few hours of each other; and they would be, for those who needed it, disguised. The city was quite large and from there, they would be able to have access to the jungle. It seemed that they had also run into a wall, though. They really did not know if the people who had bought the formula to bring out an alter ego had found a way to make more of it. A small part of the government should be located somewhere close. Or if they were not, there would have been someplace that were in charge of looking after the beasts.

If they had any luck at all. It would only be a small operation designed for trial of the alter ego test subjects. But, if it was trial and error distribute, then why was it in the papers and why were they being allowed to terrorize people. They had not come into the city yet. And if they found them in time, they might not get the chance. The best Tom could figure was that they must have escaped.

It took a bit of time to get assembled. They had to choose who would go with whom and what they were going to do if they needed more help. The league were capable of taking care of runaway Hydes, they had one of their own to help with that. But it was the people that they may need help with. If need arose to become aggressive to not only the alter egos, then Nemo's men would be waiting in a camp outside of town.

Some of the League looked very different when they were ready to depart. Tom looked much the same, as did Allan. Mina was wearing a much more simpler outfit of a loose skirt that was long enough to swirl about her ankles, but not drag in the dust; it went with a roomy blouse and a shawl. Her and Henry would be posing as husband and wife on a trip with his father-in-law. Henry was dressed much the same as he usually did. Though he had abandoned his elaborately tailored coat for one of Allan's more worn and casual jacket. The biggest change was Nemo. He had had to completely change his garb so that he would not attract too much attention. He was very compliant when he had been asked to remove his turban and uniform. He was more about the height of Tom, if not a bit shorter. It was a shock to see how much smaller he looked without his turban. But he still had his fatherly smile and twinkling eyes that no one would question if they saw that smile directed at Henry and Mina.

Allan and Tom would be posing as father and son out to see a bit the world, posing as rumor and adventure hunters. There was no problem there, they very much looked the part even before the mission began. And then there was Skinner. Skinner would be going with Tom and Allan, but he really didn't exist on this trip. He and Nemo would be sharing a room. It was certainly much easier than him bunking up with Tom and Allan or Henry and Mina.

They set out with Nemo's crew carrying supplies for themselves and also three-day's provisions for the league until they reached the city. The dirt road that led into the city usually had a number of people walking it each day. Mina, Jekyll and Nemo would be leaving first. They took their bags and supplies and a few of Nemo's crew to look like hired help and they left. The entire three-day trip to the city was planned so that they would only be a few hours ahead of each other, and therefore, close enough if either party needed help.

After Henry, Mina and Nemo departed the remainders were left virtually to themselves aboard the Nautilus. Allan, Tom and Skinner passed the hours playing cards; and in Tom and Skinner's case, nursing hangovers. It was late afternoon when the trio set out alone. They all carried supplies, including Skinner; there would most likely be no one on the roads so late. So the thief was dressed in his long coat. The next day he would cease to exist. They walked until an hour past dark, and then made camp. There were abandoned camps a little ways off of the dirt road from past travelers. The glow of fires in similar camps shown like candlelight some miles away.

Only a small fire was made, it's use was mainly to keep animals away if any dared to come out of the jungle. The took turns at keeping watch by drawing sticks. Tom grumbled a bit about having drawn the shortest stick and having to keep first watch. But at least it was better than Skinner's. The thief had second watch and therefore had to sleep, wake up and then try to sleep again. Silently finishing the cold rations from their packs, Skinner and Allan dropped off, leaving Tom to stir up the fire and wait out his watch.

And so they went through the night. Morning came rising through the trees, when Allan shook them awake. The thief jumped when Allan kicked him out of his blanket. "Rise and shine Skinner. And don't forget, not a peep if we see anyone." Skinner grumbled but complied and picked himself up of the ground.

The next two days passed much the same. It was on the third day that they reached the city. Allan hoped that no one noticed the faint footprints in the dust made by the invisible thief. Thank God he was practiced at walking lightly. Skinner tried to stay close to Tom, the crowds were thick and he didn't want to risk sending a panic through the masses by bumping into anyone…or knocking anything over.

Tom could feel Skinner behind him, he was sticking closer than a shadow. Well, it was for the better. The last thing they needed was for him to trip or run into someone. They wandered about for an hour until Allan spotted one of Nemo's men. They locked eyes and they started to steer towards him. They kept a distance from each other and they eventually came to an inn. The sign hanging above the inn door was in the native language and Allan could not read it, but it looked nice enough. Not too shabby and not too expensive. The common room was filled with local men drinking ale from heavy tankards. No one looked up from their drinks when they walked in, the city was full of Foreigners and traders. Buying a room was no problem, though the room was small and cramped, with barely enough room for the two beds, their packs, and a table that held a chipped wash bin with a pitcher of water.

A door opened down the narrow hall and Jekyll stepped in to the hall, as if to simply talk or allow Mina to change. Nemo did the same from his room next door to Jekyll and Mina's room. They quickly traded information and Mina joined them a moment later, she actually had changed. She looked more suitable for sight seeing now, and that was exactly what she would be doing. Nemo was going to see what he could find by talking to some of the men in the common room downstairs, buying drinks loosened tongues. Mina and Jekyll would be sightseeing and learning about the latest news Tom, Allan and Skinner would of course be the common nosy adventures snooping about for the latest rumors.

There would be time for catching the alter ego's. So far they had done nothing besides terrify people and destroy property. It would be best if they could uncover the organization responsible for controlling them. It was an hours trip outside the city to the town where the beasts had been disrupting things.

Mina took Jekyll's arm as they descended the stairs. As they had before done, they would leave in parties an hour or so between each. They strolled down the hard packed earth of the street. The streets were rather narrow except for the main streets the ran in a cross through the city. They walked around the markets, admiring the crafts and exotic food. Henry was a bit twitchy, she could feel him jerk every so often, and his arm that was not looped through hers continually checked his watch. Hyde knew why they were here, and it seemed he was getting anxious.

She patted his hand comfortingly and then seemed to realize what she had done and blinked in surprise simultaneously with Henry. They walked in silence for a while. Only stopping when they saw anything that might give them clues or information. It was slow going. They had to be politely inquisitive, but not nosy. That was left up to Allan and Tom.

Nemo was next to go. He talked briefly with Allan before going downstairs to fulfill his part of the mission. He settled himself comfortably in the smoke filled room to start up a conversation and ordered a round of drinks.

And hour later, it was time for the last party to go out and see what they could find. Allan headed the party and Tom followed behind. Skinner, of course, did not exist so he tried his hardest not to do anything that would give him away. Allan had been strict about keeping close. The thief was a bit grumpy after the talk he received. It wasn't as if the people would know what hit them anyway. He would apologize on bended knees to Allan if he ever collided with someone who dusted himself off and exclaimed he'd been hit by an invisible man. He had to agree that it might cause some panic if he was discovered, so he stuck to his method of keeping close to Sawyer. No one trailed too closely to someone carrying that much firepower about their person. Skinner was quite surprised to see that many did carry guns, and some fingered them almost as much as Tom did; or if not guns, then a hefty knife at the very least.

They asked around, usually keeping their questions discreet enough, but giving the feeling of boastful adventure seekers. Their ruse they carried of quite well was that they wanted to catch a glimpse of the monsters in the town nearby. The people they boasted to thought them harmless, foolish, irritating or all three.

About halfway through the day, it was apparent that they were actually getting somewhere. Many people reported that a number of men asked questions about the beast as well. The same sort of questions. More than a few had been Englishmen, and they seemed to know quite a bit about the creatures already. They split up at one point, the meeting point would be back at the inn in three hours. Tom and Skinner went together and Allan went alone.

There three hours were almost up when a man approached Tom with a friendly smile. "Hello there, sir." Tom nodded politely and smiled in greeting. It seemed that the man wanted to talk because he went right on after he introduced himself as Warren. "You look like a gentleman who likes his adventures, am I right?" Tom nodded, he was supposed to be after all. Going undercover was one thing his years in the secret service had taught him. "Why I am indeed sir, why do you ask?" He held out his hand to Warren and introduced himself as Jeric Athem. Warren shook the proffered hand then crossed his arms over his chest and adopted a relaxed stand, Tom leaned against the side of a brick building. "No reason in particular. I was just wondering if you had heard of a creature that's been in the papers lately?"

Tom's senses came to alert at his words. Nodding nonchalantly his tone carried the calm attitude of mild interest. "As a matter of fact I have. My father and I came to see if we could see anything about it. Speaking of which, do you know anything?" Tom knew it might be risky to ask such a thing, but the man obviously knew something. He was an Englishman and that coupled with his questions marked him as a suspect that needed to be watched.

"The man showed a smile that might have been more of a baring of teeth. "Nothing much, just catching rumors. How long have you been in town?"

Tom scuffed the ground with on booted foot, "Not long, about a day. So, have you hunted up any more rumors, we'd be very much obliged if you could tell us anything." Warren's smile tightened, "No, I haven't. But excuse me, I must take my leave now." They shook hands and parted. Tom walked a ways, before studying some items from a vendor. A minute or so later Skinner whispered into his ear, "Better go after 'im or we'll never get another chance." Tom took off at a swift though still casual walk, the man was just in sight. He, Warren that is, rounded a bend and disappeared into a foot trail leading into the jungle. Tom waiting until a group of people passed him by before he and Skinner darted down the trail after the man.

Lights flashed and Tom reeled as a heavy object smashed into the base of his skull. His vision was doubled, though when he was able to see a bit better he noticed that he was no longer alone. A circle of men stepped towards him hesitantly. He didn't understand why they were so cautious until a bullet ricocheted off a tree an inch from one mans face and it was for the first time that Tom realized he was holding both his colt pistols.

The unpleasant roiling in his stomach said that it might just expel itself any moment. Darkness came as another weighty object hit him again, though as he faded into unconsciousness, Tom was pleased he hear his pistols fire again and this time they did not strike a tree.

* * *

Skinner took off like one of tom's bullets when the Agent was struck. Disgust with himself wormed up as he ran, but he would do Tom no good if he got himself captured or killed. Still, Tom had needed him. _No!_ _Allan could help him a lot better than I could ever_. _Just keep running, find help_. The thief berated himself as he ran, trying to doge people in the crowd and find the inn as fast as he was able. Allan would be at the inn by now, and Skinner prayed that Jekyll and Mina would be there too. Oh God, he was going to kill Tom if he got himself killed.

* * *

Allan had "introduced" himself to Nemo and was talking over drinks while Jekyll and Mina freshened up when the door to the inn burst open. Thankfully the inn keep muttered in heavily accented English that the wind was picking up. He must have seen his and Nemo's exchanged glances. Though both the hunter and Captain new the real reason for the doors unnatural activity.

A breathless voice whispered in Allan's ear, "Upstairs now!" Allan hastily excused himself to Nemo while directing with his eyes to meet him and the thief upstairs. Allan had hardly closed the door before Skinner spilled everything, "Tom's been taken. We asked our questions but we came up with more than one answer that led us to look for Englishmen asking the same questions as ours. One of those guy's found us and 'e and Tom talked for a bit but left quick like; you know, like someone who has somethin' to hide. Anyway, we followed 'im and then a bunch of the blokes jumped Tom and- and I left to get help." Allan stood, a dangerous glint in his eyes that made Skinner stepped away from him uneasily. "I'm sorry Allan, but I knew you could help him better than I could." The hunter nodded and sighed, "You did what was best Skinner. Come on, we need to get the others. Can you lead us to where he was taken?"

The thief nodded, then realized Allan couldn't see him and said, "Yes, I think so." Allan nodded grimly, "Don't think, just do it. Let's go." Allan rapped on Jekyll and Mina's door urgently. The door swung open and Jekyll looked out. "Allan, what are you doing?" The good doctor hiss under his breath at the hunter. "I think we found our men. Problem is that they have Tom. No time for questions." Jekyll stopped with his mouth half open and muttered, "One moment." Mina had heard and she pushed into the hall, "Is he injured, did they see hostile beyond capturing him. Skinner! I know you're here."

Skinner hesitated before speaking, Mina had a uncanny ability to know exactly where he was. He thought it might have something to do with her vampiric senses, no woman was that creepy all on her own. "Yeah, kinda. It might not have 'elped that Tom took out one of theirs. I'm not sure if 'e killed the guy, but I saw 'im go down. I'd take my chances and say they won't be too friendly to 'im." Skinner shivered when Mina looked right at him, he hated when she did that.

Out of need, each party waited a few minutes before following each other. Once they were outside, they gave up almost all pretenses of not being together. Skinner gave Allan direction and ran to keep up with the Hunters fast strides. The thief led them to the place where Tom had been taken. It was deserted now and the path narrowed until it was little more than a deer path. Skinner looked about in amazement, "They were 'ere, I promise, they went this way!" Allan held up a hand to stop Skinner's splutters, "They did go this way, there are tracks." Mina nodded and did not hesitate in following Allan into the dense jungle.

The hunter held his gun ready. He had a feeling that they might just find what they had been looking for soon, and he did not mean the men who had captured Sawyer. The trail grew wider after a few miles, it looked like it was well traveled. This must be where the men had been hiding, the problem was that they _had been _hiding. There was debris everywhere, scrap metal and other such things. Allan would wager his gun that the beast had been there.

* * *

Tom came to with a groan. He tried to lift a hand to his aching head, but he couldn't lift it. He tried again and only managed to wiggle his fingers. Slowly he opened his eyes, they watered from the light shining in the room. What had happened flooded back through his muddled thoughts so quickly it hurt. He looked about for any sign of Skinner. It seemed that he was alone in the room, but if the thief was unconscious…"Skinner?" The door opened in time to catch his word. "Skinner? Who is that? let's make it our first question." Tom spat on the floor and scowled for an answer and was back-handed for his trouble.

The agent squinted against the light and looked about him, taking in his surroundings. It was a shabby, brick building with no windows. There were crates and supplies stacked against the walls and Tom took up almost all the available space. Well, it was a good thing to know that they had to torture a captive in their store room, it meant they did not usually torment people. Tom became aware that the man was talking to him and he had to think a moment before his words came to him, "Who are you?" Tom got a good look at the man, it was Warren. "I told you my name already, when we met. It's Jeric, Jeric Athem." Warren paced in front of the chair Tom was tied to. "Maybe you're lying, and maybe you aren't. But you obviously know something of the rumors circulating and that they aren't gossip. Who sent you?" Tom's head reeled and throbbed. He shut his eyes against the light and mumbled, "I wasn't sent, my father and I just wanted to see what we could find about the local stories. It seemed interesting."

Tom's head snapped to the side for a second time as he was once again back-handed. Licking blood from a split lip, Tom turned away from the man's onslaught. "You're lying!" Warren shouted, his face going red with anger. The man sighed, obviously trying to control his temper. "No matter." He paced a few more times, it was a short pace, only two steps each way. "You know what we have. Or rather what he had, I _know_ you do." Warren's eyes pierced his own, they strangely held no hint of cruelty only cold reason. "You must know who we are by now?" Tom shook his head and Warren seemed genuinely surprised, "No? But you must. We were warned against you." The agent's eyes widened, "Warned against me? Why?"

Warren bit his lip and his eyes turned their gaze inward, looking like Jekyll when he was talking with Hyde. "When we bought the-the Serum…" He glanced at Tom who didn't show any sign of responding, but Warren didn't seem to care. "The men who sold them to us said that if we bought the Serum then we must lend them that which we bought and they…" He cleared his throat, "they described a group of people, one of which looks remarkably like you. And there was also a few other…distinctive…individuals that they mentioned to us. Your mention of someone named…Skinner was it?" Warren's smile was sad as he addressed Tom. "I'm really a nice guy, but my work comes before anything, they asked of us one last thing. If any of those individuals came calling, they needed to die." Tom gulped as Warren smiled sadly and left the room.

_

* * *

_

_Sawyer Fan: Oh yeah, I couldn't kill of Allan, I like him way too much to wait until the sequel comes out and sadly I don't care much for the graphic novels. There is much father/son coming, I can't see Allan as anything else but a father figure._

_Faust: Thankee very much, I hope that I have a good mixture of everything. The sad thing is that I absolutely love angst, but I don't think I'm the best at writing it. I try, then I get all sad for the people I'm torturing and it eventually turns out humorously or in a friendshipy moment that hopefully makes you go "awwwww, that's nice."_

_Silent Bob 546: Sorry, didn't mean to steal any ideas. Put yours out too, I'd love to read it. Yeah, I think it is going to be slightly romantic between Mina and Jekyll. I never could see her with Tom. No offence to people who do, but I just can't see Mina cuddling up to our favorite little agent. I've never really written a romance and I try to avoid extreme romance fics, so there's only going to be enough so that you know it's there._

_Cecily Marla Smith: Thankee very much, I do so love Tom and Skinner mischief and I've always thought of them as really close, even though they weren't in the movie. For some reason, I also have an attachment to Jekyll too, but I think it's because he looks so defenseless and twitchy. Your compliment makes me giggle and blush, thanks and I hope you like the rest of it._

_TBC..._


	3. Fights and Freedom

So terribly sorry I haven't updated sooner. The next one will be up sooner next time, I swear it will. So in the meantime, enjoy and reviews make me incredibly happy.

See first chapter for disclaimer and whatnot.

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* * *

Mirror Image _

Fights and Freedom

* * *

Jekyll opened and shut his pocket watch nervously, Hyde knew he would be let out soon. It was a half hour before they came upon a disturbing sight. It was a compound, but it was ruined beyond imagination. The others stared in amazement, but he knew what had made it. Only Hyde could rip metal like that and it looked identical to his…work. 

They were close now, a few hundred feet away they could see some undamaged structures, they made for that point. There were low to the ground and hardly tall enough for even Nemo to stand in. "Jekyll! We'll need Hyde for this, I can't open it." Jekyll heard Hyde laughing as he slowly took a bottle of his serum from his pocket. Most of the League averted their eyes when Henry began his painful transformation. None of the doctors kind and gentle manner remained when the transformation into his alter ego, Mr. Edward Hyde, was complete. Hyde grinned nastily and took his time about ripping the door off it's hinges.

There was a torch in the entrance along with a long flight of stairs. Mina and Allan exchanged looks before the Hunter cleared his throat to turn their eyes upon him. "Nemo, Hyde, you stay here. If you find anyone, see if you can capture them. If they get violent, do what you have to do. There's no sense in playing peacemakers if they don't want to settle things." Hyde grunted and Nemo nodded, "My men will be here soon. I sent a runner to them when we left the inn."

Allan, Mina and Skinner disappeared into the underground fortress. Actually, fortress was a bit much. As they explored a bit, they found it to be almost completely deserted, and it consisted of a few labs, one room of bunks and many storage rooms, it was not large enough that they would be searching for too terribly long, but it's passages were identical and it would have been easy to get lost if one wasn't careful. Tom had to be in one of the rooms, there didn't seem any where else he could be if not here. Allan had discovered another staircase and found that it led to the other low roofed structures that dotted the clearing they had been standing in not too long ago. So, they were all connected. That might be useful information.

"Allan!" The Hunter whirled about at Mina's call, five men were emerging from a storeroom. Once they saw Allan and Mina they produced guns and all hell broke loose when another four came barreling from another room. They were locked in a hexagon passage with all sides except two leading to storerooms. Allan stumbled into Skinner and paused only long enough to hiss at him, "Find Sawyer!"

The thief, practically on hands and knees, scurried about, dashing into storerooms calling Tom's name while trying to doge the gunfire. Rounding a corner, he ran slap bang into Warren. The man's eyes widened in shock and fear, but it took only a moment to connect his invisible barrier with the group he had been ordered to exterminate. He swung his gun in an arch around him and smiled when he felt it connect solidly with something. Skinner emitted a sharp cry and dropped to one knee, fortunately avoiding Warren's next swing. Diving for his legs, Skinner took Warren to the ground.

Yanking a pistol out of the holsters on Warrens waist, Skinner had only a second to recognize them as Tom's before he held it levelly at the man's head. "Tell me where _he_ is, and who _you _are." The thief gritted his teeth against the pain that ripped through his ribs at every intake of breath. "Tell me!" Hoping to God that the man thought he knew how to shoot a gun, Skinner stood, on arm wrapped around his ribs, raising his voice to a shout, "Tell me or I shoot!"

"I'll take you to him, just please, don't kill me." Warren's fear was plain in his shaky voice. "You must understand, I had to follow orders. There aren't many of us, we didn't know how strong they would be. We thought we could keep them contained." Skinner hadn't a clue what the man was babbling about, but it clicked after a moment. The Hydes, so they were responsible for letting them loose. "Just take me to the boy, and keep your hands were I can see them." Snarled the thief while relieving Warren of Tom's other pistol and the gun he had been carrying.

* * *

Tom twisted his hands behind him even more furiously. He could hear someone coming and if he could only get his hands free! The ropes were already sticky with his own blood. The rough fibers cut into his wrists cruelly. They would be coming back to finish him off now. But Skinner was going to get help, or at least he had to be doing something. If he had not been captured, that was. But if he hadn't been then certainly he would have gotten Allan and the rest of the League. Tom noticed without thinking that the room he was in was built of metal. It may have been soundproof, but he wasn't sure. Everything was still mostly quiet to him, though there was a muffled dull roar that hadn't been there when he had woken up. 

The agent had nearly tipped the chair over once, that certainly wouldn't have done him any good. The way his hands were tied, he would have broken an arm or worse. He could hear footsteps now, and they were getting closer; Tom worked his hands more furiously, they were almost loose, he could fight just as well with his hands…well, almost as well, it would be enough for him to escape at least. The throbbing in his skull had magnified in the stuffy room and sounds came even more muted and distant than they already were, but he could hear the door handle being turned, sweat rolled into his eyes as he twisted his hands.

The door banged opened, assailing his head, the sound ricocheting painfully inside his skull like a bullet. This was it, this time his luck ran out, before he shut his eyes against he pain he saw Warren come through the door. Tom gritted his teeth, he wouldn't go out with his eyes closed and cringing like a cur. He snarled at Warren and lifted his chin high.

"Glad to see you too, Sawyer." The cockney voice came from behind Warren. The man shifted, and for the first time, Tom was able to see the floating gun shoved against Warren's back.

"Skinner?" Tom's jaw dropped, his tone incredulous. The thief snorted, "Do you know another invisible man?" There was only a slight hesitation before he spoke again, "You're alright…right?" Tom smiled weakly, "Are you going soft on me, Skinner?" He this time, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just untie me. You took long enough."

The thief kept the gun pointed at Warren, Tom noticed that the hand that held the gun shook slightly. Or at least the gun was shaking, it was this only indicator to where Skinner was. As Tom had predicted, the knots were loose, the agent would have gotten himself free in little less than half an hour if he had been left to his own devises for that long. He became aware that Skinner was talking to him and he blinked himself out of his thoughts, "Allan and Mina are inside. It's kind of like an underground fortress, only it's made of mostly storerooms. It's really pathetic, but according to our friend 'ere, there aren't many people left anyways." Warren nodded his head furiously. The thief pressed Tom's pistol into his hands, "'ere you go, I'm afraid I'd shoot my own foot if I had to actually fire it." Warren scowled at Skinner and his mouth opened but closed just as quickly. His eyes took on a note of panic.

Tom touched his bloody wrists lightly, wincing at the pressure of his finger tips on the torn skin. "What did you do to him? He looks terrified." The thief's voice was a bit breathless and tight, but nothing could dampen his dry humor, "I told 'im I'd make 'is death excruciatingly slow if 'e opened 'is mouth." Tom nodded satisfactorily. "Did you have any trouble capturing him?" Skinner laughed softly, but it cut off in a pained grunt, "A bit, yeah, but nothing that a little scotch couldn't fix. Come on, Allan is going to skin me alive if I don't show up with you soon."

With Warren leading the way, acting as guide and shield against and sudden shooting, they found Mina and Allan standing in the honeycomb passage amidst the bodies of a few of the men that had attacked them. The rest were herded into a room and guarded by the vampiress. Allan embraced Tom fondly and Warren was added to the temporary prison under the watchful eyes of Mina. The Hunter examined Tom injured wrists and the lump the size of a pigeon's egg on the back of his head. Clasping him on the shoulder, Allan smiled down at the agent, "Not too bad, you could have been in much worse shape." Tom glowered at his in mock anger, "Well thank you for being concerned."

Ruffling Tom's hair, Allan called to Mina, "How many do we have?" Not taking her eyes off of the captives, the Vampiress's voice sound calm and soft, soft like velvet covering steel. "Five. Let's get them to the surface. I don't think there's anymore here; though there should be more above ground I believe."

They walked along the narrow corridors with the prisoners in the lead with Mina and Allan at their backs. They were already petrified of Mina; Allan's gun was only just in case they decided to snap out of their fearful trace. Tom elbowed Skinner playfully in the ribs, "You had me worried, I thought yo-" The agent cut off in surprise as Skinner groaned and gripped Tom's arm, nearly toppling him as he staggered. Skinner tried to breathe lightly, but it was hard not to gasp at the pain that cut through his lungs. At least he knew now that something had definitely been knocked loose by that gun. Well, on the lighter side, he hadn't been shot. He looked ahead to see if Allan or Mina noticed, they didn't look back.

Tom looked like he was going to say something, but he closed his mouth, brows drawing together as he drew Skinner's arm about his shoulders. "You'll regret not telling them, believe me." Skinner winced, but Tom could hear nothing more than his sarcastic, and a little more than cranky cockney voice, "Let's not and say I did, right?. C'mon, we need to keep up." And indeed he was right, Allan and Mina were almost about to round a corner and vanish from sight.

Allan was relieved when they reached the large iron doors that led to the surface. He believed that there had to be more men that this in the entire operation. They would not send a score of men to look after the beasts. But, very likely there could have been more. The Hydes were more than capable of taking out the men that could not retreat to the underground refuge. There could be more men trying to round them up, they would not have only stocked the place with food and supplies, they had to have to have firepower too. When they stepped up onto the surface, Allan found that he had indeed been correct.

Chaos reigned above ground. The guttural roars of the beast were in the near distance. There were men were fighting Nemo's crew and the actual captain and Jekyll were nowhere to be found. Some of either side were lying motionless on the ground or moaning, but the Nautilus's crew outnumbered the men two to one. Allan fired a few shots in the air and Mina's hair started to curl once again. It the men were expecting something amazing, they obviously weren't expecting anything of this magnitude. Some of them crossed themselves, muttering prayers and a few fingered their guns before they found themselves staring down the barrels of Tom's pistols and Allan's Matilda; and even Skinner stood holding his stolen rifle uneasily.

"Listen all of you!" Allan's voice snapped everyone's attention to the Hunter. "Since we're all trying to exterminate the same foe, or at least I hope we are, we need to work together and until this is over, the only one we'll be hunting is the beasts."

"You can't kill them!" Cried a voice, Tom thought it was Warren, a good look said he was correct. "They are men! Their formula hasn't worn off and they still have access to the lab. We need to capture them or divert them until it wears off." Allan harrumphed, "And how do you propose we do that? We know very well that they are men, but they will only kill and destroy until they are stopped. I will not sacrifice our men to distract those beasts if they can be killed with less bloodshed. And we will be confiscating the rest of the serum, if there is any left"

Warren was tightly corralled with his other men that populated the damaged command center, but he came to the edge of his, his face pleading with the Hunter, "Please, you can't destroy them. And at least leave the formula, it's too valuable to be terminated." Allan smirked, "I didn't say we were going to destroy it."

There was no more chance for words, Hyde came rushing through the trees, clad in the tattered remnants of Dr. Jekyll's clothes. He was locked together with one of the beasts, they tore up the dirt and scattered all of the men. Bestial snarls and bellows made the air erupt in an explosion of noise. It seemed than now their lives were in danger, science would have to wait and the scientists scattered in panic, seeking shelter and leaving their own small force behind. All the men now strove to kill the beasts. Well, everyone but Warren; he was fairly jumping in fury as they rained bullets on the beast, screaming about his work and advances on military defenses. Allan, Tom and Mina tried to tell them that one was on their side, but the bullets hardly made an impression on the thick skin of the beasts. Hyde roared as he was knocked back a step, "Nemo's leading on the others. Go!"

The scientist's men seemed surprised Hyde could speak, but then again, they seemed only to be around to protect the scientists and didn't appear to know much about science. They joined Nemo's crew and everyone took off in a group. They slowly spread out, however, in a large line as they ran through the thick brush and occasional clearings. Occasionally the tree's immense and thick foliage would block out the sun and they discovered that hardly any ground vegetation grew in these area's. It was in one of these dark patches that they ran into Nemo with a small group of his men. Though they also encountered another Hyde in the process.

The Captain yelled something to Allan, but the Hunter shook his head to say he did not catch the Nemo's words. The hailstorm of bullets and ripped up earth, trees and other debris was almost Deafening. Nemo put his head close to the Hunter's, "There is a cliff. We have been trying to direct him towards it. I think it may be our answer." Allan nodded, "Good thinking, it'll be just the thing. We don't have enough ammunition to kill them."

Nemo was thrown flat as Allan tackled him out of the way of a deflected bullet. They scrambled to their feet tried to tell as many as they could about the plan, Nemo's unflappable manner seemed a bit ruffled and his eyes widened the slightest bit as he thanked Allan. The Hunter gave him a tight grin before they took of, stooping low to avoid any more scattered gunfire.

The scientist's guards did not all speak English, but they seemed to understand that they were supposed to do well enough through hasty miming and broken English spoken on their part; or at least Allan hoped they understood. The Hunter caught up to Tom as they began to pressure the beast in the direction they wanted him to go. "We're going to lead him to a cliff. Nemo knows where it's at. Follow us if you can." He started to leave before yelling back at the agent, "Where's Skinner, I haven't heard from him since we came above ground."

"Right 'ere Allan." The Hunter started as the thief's voice came from his left, near Tom. Allan gave the seemingly thin air where Skinner stood a stern glare before running off to join the men trying to make the beast run in the intended direction. Tom search through the air until his hand came into contact with Skinner's shoulder, "Are you fine to keep up?" The thief shrugged off Tom's hand, "To each 'is own Sawyer; don't worry about me." The saying sounded odd coming from the thief and Tom suspected he was hiding something, though he didn't question further. There was much more important things to tend to, and they had to act fast before they all ended up injured or dead.

They started to run after the main party. It was larger now. Including the League, Nemo's men and the scientist's men, they equaled about four score men altogether. Only about twenty remained behind to be the rear guard, they did not stray too far, only just in sight of the main bunch. It was in this group that Skinner and Tom stayed back in. They hadn't run a hundred yards before screams sounded behind them and then an angry howl as a third beast followed by Hyde came tearing through the trees. it seemed Hyde had taken care of his double back in the ruined site they had left because as odd as it sounded, the beast Hyde was battling now looked distinctly different that the other had.

Well at least they only had two to worry about now, though now they were caught in the middle. Tom felt the breath leave his lung in one whoosh of air as he hit the ground. A second later, half of an uprooted tree sailed above them, obviously hurled by one of the warring brutes. The thick limbs tore through Tom's coat and shirt as it narrowly missed him, gouging long, deep furrows down his chest. The weight that had sent him to the ground, knocking him mostly out of harms way, rested heavily on his right arm and he felt a heartbeat that was not his own hammering wildly.

"Skinner?" Gasped Tom, pushing the invisible man off of himself, "Are you all right?" An equally as breathless voice said from where the thief was seated on the ground, "Am I all right? I thought my 'eart was going to climb out of my throat. It's Allan's job to take care of you, not mine, Tom. The next time you decide to try and step in the middle of a fight between Hydes, I'm not goin' to stick around to pull your chestnuts out of the fire. Let's go, I'm sure another chance to get killed is waitin' for us." An invisible hand helped the agent to his feet and shoved him forward to get him moving.

* * *

It was tougher than he thought to keep up with Tom. He should have guessed, the boy was younger, in better shape, and then there was the fact he could feel the stabbing pain in his lungs with every breath. If any ribs _were_ broken, Skinner was certain that it was doing them no good by running; but it was either that or stay behind with the beat and Hyde. 

Thankfully, they had not lost too much ground and they reached the back runners of the main party in almost no time. Skinner's raspy breaths hitched in his throat and his vision swam. Tom was panting too, even though the run had been a short one. Blood soaked the agent's shirt and coat, dripping onto his trousers. A lightheadedness made his steps unsure and voices came from far away. Slipping a hand inside his shredded shirt, Tom winced and withdrew his hand, damp with bright blood that shone in the beams of light that filtered through the thick canopy. Shots rang out so loud that they would have only come from on gun…Allan's.

A number of men lay groaning around a newly made clearing. The men was made up of most of the scientist's men. Those who were not groaning, lay disturbingly still. Hardly a handful of the scientist's guards were left, but Nemo's men were used to Hyde's antics. Or, if not used to them, had experience in controlling him. The cliff they were backing the last monster towards, led to a secluded beach. The narrow strip of wet sand showed that it was low tide, when the tide came in, it would wash the body away. Allan raised his gun, a bloody hole already gaped in the beast shoulder. It looked as if it had also done a capable job of forcing the brute back a few steps.

The tree he was holding hung limply from his now useless arm. He feebly attempted to bat the crew with it, but his snarls were pained. When the gun was leveled with the beast's heart, the Hunter gently squeezed the trigger. Howling with pain and stumbling the last few steps, it seemed that nearly everyone held their breath as he teetered on the brink of the precipice. A shriek that lasted the entire fall was silenced gruesomely with a muted thud as the large body his the sand far, far below.

* * *

Mina tucked a faintly curled lock of hair behind on ear. She found it almost impossible to try and straighten her mused dress, it was ripped and dirty from their flight through the jungle. She thought much better of her appearance, however, when he caught sight of Dr. Jekyll. The man could hardly stand, as he was in such a state. Trembling from exhaustion and strain with his garments torn and hardly hanging on. He modestly kept his trousers from falling about his ankles, but he looked about to drop himself at any moment. Stepping quickly to cross the gap of space between them, the vampiress offered an arm and supported the majority of his weight. 

He sat down in the dry cool loam of the jungle floor. Channels of light streamed down from gaps in the canopy of trees, making pools of radiance on the dark ground. The doctor peered about surveying the dieing chaos. Nemo rounded up his men, taking charge of what was left of the other men and sending a small party to fetch the scientists from where they had been left under guard of a scant few crew members. The wounded were being looked after and treated as best as could be expected with hardly any equipment. It was a few miles walk back to the scientist's destroyed encampment, there would be supplies there.

Seeing the amount of wounded, the doctor soon picked himself up and began to see if he could make himself useful. It would hardly do for the only real doctor to sit around while there were men that needed tending to. Striping away the long tatters of his shirt, Jekyll used them as a sort of rough belt to hold up his trousers as Mina assisted him from one victim to the next. Allan was searching among the men that lay on the ground, some made small grisly heaps that were enough to turn anyone's stomach. He could guess what the Hunter was looking for, and he wouldn't be calmed, no doubt, until he found that Tom was not among the dead that littered the ground like broken dolls.

It was Skinner, however, who found the agent first; indeed, he had not left the boy's side. Tom was almost fully unconscious now, the thief was slowly joining him. Letting his back rest against a rough tree trunk, he slid down until he was sitting. Sawyer was cradled awkwardly against the thief's chest, pressing painfully on his ribs. He had almost sunk fully into unconsciousness when Allan retched them. "Sawyer!" He cried, kneeling next to the Agent, accidentally jarring Skinner in the process. The thief bit his lip hard to keep from yelping. Muttering a hasty apology, Quatermain gathered the boy in his arms and stood, calling for Jekyll. Remaining where he was seated on the ground, Skinner tried to placate the Hunter even as his voice faded, "Settle down Allan, it's not too serious; I think the bleeding stopped, 'e just needs to rest after 'e's been patched up." Allan turned towards the patch of ground where the thief sat, "Thank you looking out for him." Directing an invisible smile at the Hunter, Skinner murmured, "No need for that, it's been mutual between 'im and me."

Quatermain turned once again to take Tom to Jekyll. The thief had spoke the truth, the gashes had stopped bleeding, but they had yet to be bandaged and he had lost an unhealthy amount of blood before the wounds had begun to clot. "Come on Skinner," Allan sighed wearily, "let's go, by tomorrow we'll all be back aboard Nautilus." He took a few steps before realizing that Skinner had not said anything, nor had he heard the thief get up. "Skinner? Skinner are you all right?" There was no answer.

_

* * *

DiabloCat: I do so love Tom and Skinner, so yeah, they'll be my primary characters. Thanks for the review! _

Silent Bob 546: He's not too badly mauled in this chapter, but I can't promise anything once the action picks up later. I agree, Tom does get beat up quite a bit doesn't he? As for me, I think Skinner needs his turn . It won't all be torture though, there's quite a bit of action and a bit of angst if I can swing it.

Sawyer Fan: Consider my not-exactly-a-promise to be as binding as a straightjacket, that should be good enough. I dearly love a good father/son story.

Faust: Ooooo! I love Abbott and Costello! And Yep, Nemo is the father in law, I'm glad no one's told me that he looks nothing like Mia or Jekyll yet, but then again hopefully no one noticed. Guess what? Your nonchalant was spelled right! I didn't think I would spell it either so I put it through a word document spell check.

TBC…


	4. Recovery, Recuperation and Pressing On

Sorry this is so late folks. I've had a devil of a time trying to keep up with life. I'm trying to plan a mission trip and though it may be fun, it's certainly difficult and time consuming. But on another note, my book will be ready for publishing soon. GO ME! Don't worry, I'm still writing, just a bit slowly though. See you all next time.

Disclaimer and all that in first chapter

* * *

_Mirror Image_

_Recovery, Recuperation and Pressing On_

* * *

An Indian knelt next to Jekyll as soon as the doctor had done all he could for the man he was treating at the moment. "Mr. Quatermain say to come, it is urgent." Blinking in surprise, the doctor stood, Mina stood by his side, sticking close lest his legs give out, "Then by all means, lead me to him." Said the ever-well-mannered doctor. The Indian did so swiftly, as he had been instructed. Tom was stretched out on the ground, his coat and shirt - or was left of them - had been removed. There was several nasty looking gashes across his chest and ribs, but he would live. With a bit of rest…and more than a few stitches, he would be fine. 

But it was not over Tom that Allan was hovering, and that in itself was strange and concerning. The Hunter's coat was laid over someone else. It was quite obviously Skinner, Jekyll did not know what else it could be since he knew of no other invisible man. The thief was lying as still as Tom, though there was no blood to be seen anywhere on him. The Doctor presumed that he would be able to see the man's blood if he was injured, or at least he _might_ be able to. They had been able to see the burns after all. Anyway, it was over Skinner's cataleptic body that Allan was leaning over and he looked quite worried. At first, Henry was afraid he was dead, but as he drew near, he could hear labored breathing.

Stooping next to the thief on the ground, Jekyll hesitated. It was not going to be easy to locate where he was injured. And if there were internal injuries, it was going to be impossible to do anything. "What happened?" Said Jekyll.

Allan ran a hand through iron gray hair, "I don't know. He had Tom with him and I didn't notice he was injured until he was unconscious." Jekyll bit his under lip in concentration and pushed Allan's coat away from Skinner's chest, if the thief was having trouble breathing it might be something to do with his respiratory system. Internal or maybe broken ribs to judge from the lack of blood. Seeing with his fingertips, Henry felt along felt along the thief's chest. Hoping to feel the shift of broken bone rather than the softness of bruised flesh that indicated internal hemorrhaging. He nearly sighed with relief when a rib moved beneath his fingertips. It wasn't necessarily a good thing, but much better than the alternative.

The thief groaned at the pain and arched his back under the doctor's pressure on his now apparently broken ribs. Murmuring soothing words, Jekyll pulled the long coat back up to keep him warm and turned to Sawyer. They were simpler wounds, but he had still lost a great deal of blood; and even though the bleeding had stopped, he was cold despite the damp heat. The sooner they were moved to the compound the better.

* * *

It was dark when Tom first opened his eyes. Many fires burned in various camps dotted around the low buildings that were entrances to the underground storerooms. He was bare to the waist and covered by a blanket. Two other blanketed figures lay close by, bundled up next to Allan, Nemo and Mina as he was. The bundled figures must have been Henry and Skinner. A bandage was wrapped snuggly around his chest and the wounds it covered stung fiercely. 

Taking his blanket with him, he joined the others by the fire. Seating himself next to Allan, the Hunter took him by the shoulder and made him lean against him. "You shouldn't be up, Sawyer, Jekyll will have my head." Tom smiled and closed his eyes, "I don't think he'll be up anytime soon though." Allan tried to be stern, "It doesn't keep his advice from being true and sensible, you shouldn't be up."

Tom leaned against the Hunter, closing his eyes and letting the heat from the fire warm his face. In almost no time at all he was snoring softly, taking Allan and Henrys advise whether he had intended to or not. Allan tucked the blanket more securely around the young agent and moved about until Tom was leaning against his chest, his head resting on the Hunters shoulder.

* * *

Jekyll stirred as the first rays of light hit his eyelids. Stretching and yawning widely, he let the blanket fall around his waist. A baggy shirt hung loosely around his lanky frame. Last nights activities came rushing back and he had jumped halfway to his feet before he realized there was nothing to get excited over. The Hydes were…dealt with, and now all that was left was a clean up job and then to hunt down Mina and Skinner's alter ego's and anyone who had been involved in the purchases of their less than desirable traits. A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth at the thought. He also remembered Tom and Skinner, it had a bit difficult transporting them to the compound, but they were out of danger now. Tom had been feverish and his pulse unnervingly slow from blood loss, but otherwise he would live, albeit he would be a bit weak and dizzy for a while. He had been worried that one of the thief's ribs might have punctured a lung, but thankfully he was able to wrap them without difficulty beyond the problem of not being able to see exactly where the injuries were located. 

Glancing about, he noted that Tom was not in his original resting positions he had been in last night. And unless he had sleepwalked, he could not have moved to his current location sleeping against Allan unless he had walked there. Irritation faded away though, as he saw Tom shift and curl up closer next to Allan. Tom and Skinner had done well, the rest of the League might still not know about the compound if it hadn't been for Tom's overly inquisitive personality and Skinner's quick thinking. The thought of the thief drew the doctor's gaze toward his form lying next to the fire not many feet from his own resting place.

Catching a movement out of the corner of one eye, Jekyll turned to find that he wasn't the only one awake. Mina rose gracefully, smoothing her wrinkled skirts as best she could. "Good morning Dr. Jekyll. How did you sleep?"

Henry gave a courteous half bow, trying to ignore that he looked absolutely bedraggled. "As well as can be expected, Mrs. Harker. I hope we will be able to return to the Nautilus today, I would like to get Tom and Skinner aboard as soon as possible."

The Vampiress nodded in agreement and looked to where the scientists were being held captive by Nemo's crew. Jekyll wasn't clear on exactly what they were going to do with them. They were not a immediate threat now. They merely worked for a higher power that had given them the means to create destruction. More than likely they would be set free. They had no where to go now that their labs were destroyed and the formula gone. Warren had said that only he had been present when the other samples had been purchased. It seemed that Skinner's skin samples had been sent somewhere in Latin America and Mina's Genetic material had been bought by the Cairo Government in Egypt.

That was where they would be heading now, Cairo that is. Henry had a feeling that they would fine M in one of those spots. It all weighed on his shoulders, but it also felt that a weight had been lifted _off. _He was once again the only one who had a monster trapped in his mind and body. And, while it not actually being a good thing, was for the better if anything else. Mina seemed a bit troubled. She seemed to be feeling the same weight he borne until previous events. Tucking in his shirt, Henry could not help feeling a bit guilty that he was glad that he was not the only one to be feeling it.

Not many more words passed between them. It was a solemn morning, many men had given their lives the previous night and a dismal ambiance seemed to hang about in the heavy humid air. Jekyll and Mina began to awaken the others. They were not the only ones who would feel more at home on the Nautilus. In a way, the immense vessel was their home now. Mina and Jekyll had homes to go back to, but there was no family waiting there.

Allan too had no family to go back to either; indeed, it seemed that Tom was his family now, as was the entire league. Tom had family, but he seemed to enjoy their company and give the impression that he wasn't in a hurry to leave his adventures yet. Jekyll wondered if Tom knew how much they enjoyed having him around. Their youngest member often felt that he was incompetent next to the rest of the League; but in truth, he made the rest of them feel the acceptance they were deprived of in society. Because of his lack of extraordinary qualities it said that he saw them as friends and not monsters and it meant more because he was not exceptional as they were. He made all their dark times a bit brighter.

When Nemo and all his men were roused and the scientists were on their feet, Jekyll tapped Allan on his shoulder, "Wake up Alan, we need to leave." The Hunter jerked awake, jostling Tom in consciousness along with him. Allan glared around him, "Didn't bother to wake me sooner? Did you already question them?" The doctor could sense the humor behind the gruff exterior and he rolled his eyes, "Of course we wouldn't, not without you. Come on Allan, I'll not be the only one glad to leave these shores."

Tom groaned as Allan helped him to his feet, fending off Jekyll's attempts to check on his bandages and started to walk along with Allan to question the Scientists. He had been out for the entire of the aftermath and had almost no idea of what was happening. But his eyes fell on Skinner's motionless body and he tottered towards the thief instead, all other thoughts vanished. "What happened? Is he going to be all right?" He sunk down set to Skinner, glancing up towards Jekyll with a questioning shimmer in his eyes.

"He will be quite well soon enough. He has a few broken ribs, all he needs is rest now." Tom nodded, "I'm going to stay with him." Allan rested his hand on the agent's shoulder before he let Jekyll and Mina direct him towards Nemo's men that were holding the scientists.

* * *

Skinner shifted about, unable to find a comfortable place to lay. He wasn't really aware, everything was rather foggy and muffled. And not in a warm sleepy way either, much the opposite. He gasped softly as a sharp lance of pain took his breath away, but a soothing voice cut through the fog. The thief couldn't hear the words, though it might have been better that way. While the voice may have been comforting, the words certainly weren't. 

"Damn you, Skinner, I'm going to kill you if you aren't alright. At least I get to hold this one over you, and, at any rate, I have a few more scars to show next time." The agent smiled lightly and laid a hand gently on the thief's shoulder, though he had to feel about for a minute because he wasn't exactly sure where it was located.

"Tom?" The hoarse voice caught Sawyer off guard and he jumped, accidentally jarring Skinner in the process. The thief groaned and swallowed convulsively and he heard Tom's worried apologies fade into a low buzz and then gradually become coherent once again. Skinner blinked his eyes to clear away the dizziness and tried to sit up. Tom pushed him back before his abused ribs could protest too badly. "Yeah, it's me. How do you feel?"

The thief rested a hand carefully across his stomach, "Like Hyde decided to use me as a rug. 'ow about you?" Tom smiled faintly, "A bit better I should think." The thief grunted and winced, "Well you're lucky then, I guess. Where are the others? Did we, er…complete the mission?" Tom sighed softly, "We did for this part, the others are squeezing information out of our prisoners. Hopefully they know something important, it would save us some trouble in any case." Skinner nodded, then remembered himself and spoke aloud for Tom's benefit, "Well, that's good, I guess. A very small trouble taken care of, but a problem no less." His voice sounded a bit more apprehensive than he had meant it to be and Tom gave him a curious look but decided not to say anything, besides, he might have just heard the thief wrong.

They sat in silence for a while, the gashes on Tom's chest stung brutally and no doubt Skinner was in pain. He hoped that Allan and the others would be done soon. Somewhere in his blackening thoughts, Tom knew that it was a very selfish thing to think, but he didn't care right then. Tom felt about for Skinner's shoulder and, after a moment, found that he was asleep…or passed out. Tom was sure that he wasn't far from the same state himself. His foggy thoughts already confirmed it. It was seconds before Tom slumped besides the unconscious thief, welcoming the warm blackness.

* * *

Skinner awoke with a yelp of fright. His heart was beating painfully fast and his ragged breaths triggered a more physical throb in his chest. Pressing a hand lightly to his bandaged ribs, Skinner slowed his breathing and tried to recall what had woken him up. Looking about, the thief realized that he was completely alone. Now, why was that an odd thing? Taking in that he wasn't in the infirmary, nor was he lying somewhere on the ground in the middle of the bloody jungle, Skinner concluded that he must be in his room and therefore alone unless Jekyll or Tom decided to shack up with him. Skinner finished his ramblings, resolving that it had been a bad dream which woke him, and nothing more. 

The door opened, which only made Skinner start again before he realized that it was only Henry. He glowered at the doctor, not caring that he wouldn't be able to see it. "You scared me 'alf to death, Jekyll. What do you mean by burstin' in 'ere and disturbin' a chaps rest?"

Henry smiled gently, obviously glad that Skinner was feeling well enough to be in a bad mood. "Glad to see you awake, Mr. Skinner. I was afraid you would sleep all the way to Cairo. Skinner gave a start, and groaned as it jostled his aching ribs. "'Ow long 'ave I been out, and 'ow long before we get to-er, where is it that we're goin' again?"

The doctor groped about until he located Skinner and pushed the thief back into his bed. "'Cairo' is the capital of the country Egypt; and you have been 'out', as you put it, for nearly two days." Jekyll snorted softly, "Though it seems longer, I have had a devil of a time keeping Agent Sawyer out of here." Skinner tried to breathe lightly and grinned, he could imagine Sawyer trying to sneak away. No doubt Jekyll had confined the agent to his room as well. Though for the life of him he couldn't imagine why Henry hadn't just shut them both up in the infirmary like he normally would have, and he told the doctor so.

"I thought that you both would appreciate the comfort of your rooms before we proceed to out next mission." Replied Jekyll, taking a seat next to the thief's bed and snatching up his wrist to take his blood pressure. "Besides, I didn't feel much up to the task of trying to force either of you to stay put. Heaven knows you both need to rest as much as you are able and you would have been trying to reach your rooms the minute my back was turned. Though I see how that idea failed seeing as how Agent Sawyer has demonstrated that it is not the location at all, you both merely wish to drive me into an early grave.." Skinner nodded and grinned, knowing that Jekyll wouldn't see him, but it was more of a gesture to himself than to the doctor.

After Henry had been satisfied that the thief was on the mend, he took his leave from the room with the dire warning to stay in bed. Skinner grunted his compliance, not really wanting to get up anyway, though he was now thinking about it just to annoy Jekyll. Settling for taking a nap, the invisible thief let the Nautilus's whirring engines put him to sleep.

* * *

Tom sat wide awake in his room. Unlike Skinner he hadn't been injured near enough to stop him from getting into mischief, though nor was he well enough to be in a good mood. He flopped back with a small wince and huffed in frustration. He was running out of ways to get out of his room, and the agent desperately needed some sort of activity to curb the bone shattering boredom of the day. Of course he had been forbidden to go see Skinner, and Allan had only time for several hasty visits before he was called away. The agent had tried to fiddle about with a deck of cards, but it was boring to have no one but oneself to play with and it grew old very quickly. 

Rolling his eyes, Tom threw off his covers and climbed to his feet, hopping slightly on the cold floor until he located his stockings and began pulling them on rather ungracefully. He had finished the last button in his shirt just as he reached the door, and was surprised to find that it opened before he could reach the handle. It seemed that Allan was just as surprised to see him. Dragging the hunter through the entrance, Tom closed the door swiftly. "Thank God you've come, now I don't have to sneak out."

Tom could see that Allan was trying to look stern, but failing when the agent cast a pleading stare up at him. "Jekyll won't be happy." Tom scuffed his socked feet on the floor and shoved his hands into his pockets, "Of course he will be, he's always happy when he's got somebody to doctor up and boss around." Tom raised his eyes from where he had positioned them on the floor for a quick look at Quatermain. He was smiling reproachfully. "That's not very nice." Tom, however, was sure that he caught the Hunter mutter an addition of, "Though you're probably right."

Shrugging in easy defeat, Allan pushed the door open once again, "All right, but nothing strenuous, and certainly no shooting. We'll take a walk and nothing more else I'll be the one staring down the barrel of a gun." Tom snorted at the mental image of the stately doctor holding Quatermain's elephant gun.

Fortunately enough they didn't encounter Henry at all on their jaunt around the Nautilus. Though of course it could have been because they were trying their hardest to avoid him. Tom was glad he agreed to take it easy, after a while he began to feel the ache in his chest and his breaths came a bit quicker than they would have normally, not to mention he was a bit dizzy. He would have been hard pressed to actually do anything that required more physically activity than a simple stroll. Tom eventually led Allan to Skinner's room, it had been his first goal to go see the thief, but he had momentarily forgotten his aim due to the exhilaration he felt to be out of his room. He was surprised to see that Skinner hadn't already caused the mayhem he was so fond of by trying multiple escape plans.

But then again, broken ribs were nothing to sneeze at…literally. Allan stood by the door and let Tom creep up to the thief's bedside. He hadn't said anything when they opened the door, so the agent figured he was either sleeping or unconscious. Hopefully it wasn't the latter, Tom knew that Skinner had been pretty beaten up, but he hadn't thought it to be _that _bad. After a moment, Tom decided not to shake the thief, he was better off sleeping anyway. Jekyll hadn't been lying when he said they would need all the rest they could get.

So the agent settled for settling himself down in a chair next to Skinner, maybe he would appreciate the company when he awoke. Tom knew _he_ would if Skinner or Allan was by his bedside when he woke up, it was a good feeling knowing he had been missed. Though slightly uncomfortable to think he had made them worry.

He didn't have to wait long, after a while a slightly sleep slurred voice announced that the thief had awoken, "So, your room ain't good enough for you all of a sudden?" Tom grinned, "I thought I'd move in, seeing as how I'm here all the time anyway." Tom had the distinct feeling that Skinner was smiling. "'Elp me up, I think I'll go to your room. Huh, that'd really make 'em think we was off our rockers. Just up and change rooms for a bit, eh?" Tom laughed, "I suppose it would."

Tom's laughter quieted when he saw that the thief truly needed a hand up. The agent could practically feel Allan boring a hole in his back with his eyes, mentally informing him that Skinner should stay in bed. Tom didn't need the Hunter's silent stare to know that the thief was worse off than he was. Pulling out the pack of cards still in his shirt pocket, Tom shuffled them nonchalantly. "How about a game. I haven't played in a while." If Skinner noticed that he was being misdirected, he didn't let on.

Tom was pretty sure that he had caught the concern in his words, however, because even if the thief was surly about being sent back to bed like a child, he didn't complain. He may have even been grateful for it judging by the unevenness of his breaths that hinted they might be a bit painful. "I'll come back in an hour or two, all right, Tom?" Both the agent and thief jumped as Allan's voice rang out from by the door. Tom had temporarily forgotten he was there. Nodding, and throwing a smile over his shoulder, Tom began to deal out a hand to himself and Skinner.

_

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_Faust: I have to admit that I have a soft spot for him too…come to think on it, I guess I have a soft spot for every thief. I do so love thieves._

_Silent Bob 546: Sheepish grin It was kind of confusing for me too, how embarrassing, the next fight scene will be much clearer. Don't worry, I didn't kill him, I need him alive to torture him later._

_Sawyer Fan: And there's plenty more father/son moments to go. Thanks for reading, reviews keep me going._

_Diablocat: I know, isn't funny. You'd think people would love to see their least favorite's get fatally or near fatally hurt at every twist and turn…but sadly no, I'm doomed as we all are to torture that ones we love. Hmmm…isn't there a good quote by some old famous dead guy who said something along those lines? Oh well, I'll look it up some other time. Thanks a bunch for your reviews!_

_Sky Bird/Wing: So sorry this is late, I'm so terrible for updates. You should all stone be or burn me at the stake. Or you could read this and think up deviously delightful deaths for my next late update. Wow, that's a tongue twister if I ever wrote one. Just to let you know, frantic replies make me feel really guilty about not writing so feel free to let fly ._

_Ten Mara: Yeah I know, but being invisible helps the angst a bit, I'm a fan for angst but for some reason I can never write it. I get all sad and have to write something humorous or comforting because I get all sorry for the characters. I dearly love a good father/son moment, and even more do I love friendship fics…which this is by the way…Anyhoo, thanks for reading and reviewing, I appreciate it._

_Claire: Yeah, they're my favorite too, they just seem to go together so well…as friends that is, I'm not a fan of slash. Sigh friendships fics are so much fun to write._

_TBC..._


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